A FINE-arts graduate will this month share the stories of her home, craft and upbringing in three displays created by putting scalpel to paper…
“A Paper Artist in Progress” was created by Islander and artist Layla May Arthur in collaboration with Jersey-born composer Christina Orchard.
The exhibition aims to create an immersive experience designed to leave audience members fascinated with paper crafting techniques by merging paper artistry with music.
It was through a workshop with visiting artists Karen Bit Vejle and Xiaoguang Qiao, brought over by ArtHouse Jersey as part of their “Paper Dialogues” project, that Ms Arthur discovered her gift for paper cutting.
That touring exhibition made its British debut at the Town Hall in St Helier in October 2016 and during their time in the Island, the two artists ran a series of classes to train Island artists in psaligraphy – the art of paper cutting.
Ms Arthur, who was studying art at Hautlieu at the time, attended one of the classes and became fascinated with the technique and how it transforms a simple piece of paper into a work of art.
She then went on to study fine art at Minerva Art Academy in the Netherlands, where she experimented further with paper; she explained that she had rarely used another material since.
Ms Arthur’s work has been exhibited in numerous museums and gallery’s across Europe.
Tom Dingle, director of ArtHouse Jersey, which is hosting the exhibition, said: “Layla’s work has won competitions and been shown in major galleries in Europe and the United States, so it is exciting to be bringing it home for our local audience.
“[The exhibition is] accompanied by a specially commissioned soundtrack by local composer Christina Orchard. I would encourage everyone to come and take in these beautiful works.”
The exhibition will be open between 10.30am and 6pm from Thursday 23 May to Sunday 30 June at Capital House in Church Street.
